Vehicles which travel off road, on unpaved surfaces or on weather covered streets are often subject to traps which prevent desired travel in the vehicles, These vehicles may encounter mud, snow, sand or other traps in which vehicle tires are deprived of significant friction against a solid surface. Without sufficient friction against a solid surface, vehicle tires are unable to provide adequate traction to propel the vehicle in motion and free it from the mire. A winch is a useful tool for freeing trapped vehicles from earthen traps. In order to free a trapped vehicle, a winch is situated between a nearby stationary object and the vehicle to be removed from the trap. One end of the winch is connected by cable, rope, chain or other line device to the nearby stationary object. The other end of the winch is either attached to the vehicle or connected to the vehicle by cable, rope, chain or other line device. Pulley action within the winch shortens the total length of line between the vehicle and the stationary object, and assists the trapped vehicle in freeing itself from the trap.
A problem may arise for vehicles that become trapped in an area void of stationary objects such as trees, fenceposts, buildings, or other fixed structures. Without a stationary object, the line and winch has nothing to pull against, and the vehicle will remain trapped in the mire.
Ground anchors are useful in freeing vehicles from the confines of snow, mud, sand or other traps when there are no stationary objects in the near vicinity to the trapped vehicles. Ground anchors provide the necessary ground gripping action to pull a vehicle from mire when there are no stationary objects in the nearby vicinity.
Ground anchors of various types have been previously described as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,825,604 to Manning, 4,026,080 to Meikle and 3,500,589 to Ettinger. However, previous ground anchors have provided insufficient ground gripping when heavyduty vehicles must be removed from deep mire. Larger ground anchors are helpful in providing additional strength, but may be inconveniently bulky to haul and use. Additionally, many ground anchors are difficult to use or require substantial efforts to remove from the ground.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a portable ground anchor of sufficient strength that heavy-duty loads may be applied to the anchor. Another object of the invention is to provide a portable ground anchor that is collapsible so that it may be easily hauled in a vehicle. It is a further object of the invention to provide a portable ground anchor that may be easily assembled, is convenient and simple to use, and requires little effort to remove from the ground and disassemble after use.